Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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174. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on correspondence from an organisation (details supplied) regarding the greyhound industry and licences; and the latest data regarding the questions raised in same in tabular form. [38123/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Coursing is regulated under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly by the Irish Coursing Club (ICC), subject to the general control and direction of Bord na gCon.

Hare coursing is managed and regulated by the ICC.  The organisation consists of 89 affiliated clubs from Ireland and Northern Ireland, all of whom must abide by the ICC’s rules and regulations.

The granting of licenses for the netting and tagging of hares, is a matter for the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht – National Parks & Wildlife Service.  One of the conditions of these licenses is that hares can only be collected for coursing by those clubs which are affiliated to the ICC and must be done in strict accordance with the terms and conditions of these licenses. 

Due to the outbreak of the RHD-2 virus, the netting and tagging licences which had issued by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to the Irish Coursing Club for the 2019/2020 coursing season remain suspended.My Department will continue to offer laboratory services to support the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in their monitoring of the current outbreak.